Today is made for bopping around from meet to meet as they become interesting (or the opposite of that). West Virginia/Florida is the primary meet starting off the slate, but keep an eye on the scores coming from Ball State and Towson as well. Both teams are teetering on the edge of falling out of regionals contention but could save themselves with mid-195s today and remain in contention on the final weekend.

Here is our key group:

With those mid-195s, Towson and Ball State would move up to the 194.9 territory. It’s still out, but it’s at least within striking distance. Arizona State is in action later on and in a similar position, but what’s really hurting their chances is a low road score, which can’t be dropped until Pac-12s. To give themselves a chance at Pac-12s, though, they’ll need another good beating-Arizona-level 195 today.

BYU is the big wildcard there with a two-meet week and the chance to move up rather significantly. The remaining teams in this bunch won’t compete until later in the weekend.

Note that the Arkansas meet isn’t even being streamed on SEC+. They’re like, “We just can’t either.”

As for the top 25, here’s the max RQS and potential ranking outlook for each of them come Monday’s rankings.

Team

Current RQS

Max RQS

Ranking outlook

#1 Oklahoma

197.990

198.110

Safe #1

#2 LSU

197.775

197.840

Safe #2

#3 Florida

197.495

197.550

#3-#5

#4 UCLA

197.445

197.565

#3-#5

#5 Utah

197.355

197.550

#3-#6

#6 Alabama

197.285

197.430

#5-#6

#7 Georgia

196.930

197.020

#7-#9

#8 Denver

196.910

197.040

#7-#9

#9 Oregon State

196.750

196.875

#9-#12

#10 Boise State

196.700

196.835

#9-#13

#11 Michigan

196.595

197.015

#7-#13

#12 Kentucky

196.535

196.860

#9-#15

#13 Nebraska

196.450

196.735

#10-#18

#14 Washington

196.355

196.530

#13-#18

#15 Missouri

196.325

196.550

#12-#19

#16 Iowa

196.315

196.465

#13-#19

#17 Cal

196.250

196.460

#13-#20

#18 George Washington

196.215

196.350

#15-#20

#19 Illinois

196.135

196.280

#17-#21

#20 Auburn

196.090

196.165

#19-#20

#21 Southern Utah

196.030

196.570

#12-#22

#22 West Virginia

195.840

195.960

#22-#28

#23 Utah State

195.830

195.955

#22-#28

#24 Ohio State

195.815

196.010

#22-#29

#25 Eastern Michigan

195.805

195.900

#22-#29

Southern Utah has an excellent shot to disrupt everything today, but the degree of disruption is still a question. Auburn’s peak is low enough that moving into the top 18 is not an option today, but a big score would still be necessary to keep the opportunity alive on the road at SECs.

Intros done at Florida. Touch warmup about to begin. Florida judges have just been introduced, and they’re the usual Florida judges.

Rotation 1:
Gowey – VT – “let’s get ready to tumble” – aha ha ahahha, you’re the first person to think of that – lands a bit squatty this time with a hop back.

Alexander – VT – looks like no Chant in the lineup today – sticks her full apparently, we didn’t get to see it.

Gillette – UB – some handstand issues in here – Chelaru-legs on a gienger but caught – legs on her pak – quite late on a couple handstands, particularly the last which could be more than a half tenth – and a hop back on double tuck –

Hundley – VT – holds the stick on her full, with a bend – good landing, some twisting form

Muhammad – UB – clean on the straddle back – some handstands as well – very good DLO 1/1 dismount with a hop.

Chant is exo on vt – better than last week – piking and a hop back but a small one.

After 1: Florida 49.450, WVU 48.950
Solid rotation for Florida. Scored pretty appropriately. Slocum was the highlight there, pretty much her peak vault. McMurtry still got 9.900 but was never going higher than that. Good one from Alexander as well. Not bad landings at all. Handstand trouble was the story for WVU.

Baker – Towson – UB – toe shap to overshoot, a couple form deduction in there but minor – bigger leg break on her giant full into double tuck, solid landing –

Paris Phillips is back for NC State – hop back on Yfull –

There’s a new (working) link for the Kent State scores, which I’ve updated at the top.

McKellar – UB – Towson – she has garnered attention for her gigantic piked jaeger with legs together and pretty pak, no errors there – she did have an arch on the handstand but worked through it – sticks a double front, legs apart.

Knight has the biggest full for NC State – hop back.

Rotation 2:
Boren – UB – solid first – catches OK tkatchev – legs on bail but hits to vertical – DLO, feed cuts out on her dismount because I’m not bleeding from the eyes, you’re bleeding from the eyes.

Merwin – VT – WVU – y1/2, their second in the row – short and a lunge backward to save it.

Chant – UB – small arch on first hs – similar tkatchev to Boren – borderline final hs – small step on tuck full, chest down, but a usable hit.

Goldberg – VT – full – some knee form – large lunge back as well.

Gowey – UB – Ray, excellent – pak is quite clean as well – DLO with a hop back. I saw a handstand or two in there as well, but otherwise solidly 9.8ish. 9.825 is fair. Would have been fine with 9.850.

Cluchey – VT – some piking throughout her full, hop back as well. Will be tough for WVU to get out of the 9.7s with these.

Baker – UB – Strong Ray – clean vertical on her bail – good counter on shoot back to high – double front with a bounce forward – a couple iffy handstands as well (not major, borderline) but not as strong as last week’s showing.

Koshinski – VT – EXCELLENT 1.5 – sticks – just the knees. Suddenly the commentators have learned what deductions are now that WVU is going. 9.875 is tight comparatively for that, though I probably would have gone 9.900, so that’s basically the same. It was better than Boren’s which got the same score.

Hundley – UB – To shap to pak, legs together throughout which is not lost on me, so rare – strong shap 1/2 – tuck full, stuck. Tremendous set.

Muhammad has a huge full as always but a big hop back this time.

McMurtry – UB – very close on the Ray this time, keeps going but will get hit for it- clean on the bail – tuck full, her usual stick but with a lean. 9.925 is too high for me for that but is really the only score that was too high for my eye. The rest were appropriate. Overall, I’m happy with the judging through the first half, which is rare for Florida home.

After 2: Florida 98.800, WVU 97.850
Good-not-great on bars for Florida. Hundley had an excellent set and Boren started off well, but a couple dismount hops took some scores down, a handstand here or there. It’s a good rotation but to challenge LSU at SECs next week, they’ll need to clean. Florida will want to win bars to have a good shot, which makes this extra important. Koshinski’s stuck 1.5 the real highlight for WVU on a vault rotation that was otherwise very bouncy.

Neither Ball State nor Towson have started on that 195.5 pace they need to stay in the regionals hunt. With every 9.6, it’s getting easier for the schools ranked above.

“Now is distance something that judges look at.” Remember, this is a Friday night live stream of gymnastics. None of us are new.

Brooker is back on bars for NC State – toe shap to bail, small leg breaks but solid – close on shoot to high – into DLO – much better, piked a little throughout and then a hop. But last week, she took her DLO right on top of the bar basically and hit her entire feet on the bar mid-salto. There was blood.

Gillette – FX – WVU – stumble back on double pike, two large steps – apparently, floor is when they “let you into their lives,” …. so Stella Savvidou is letting us into her life as a foot fetish doctor? –

McLaughlin – BB – front aerial to bjs, solid as well – sissone – beat to double stag, small check, a little slow – check on full turn – side aerial is controlled – gainer full with a couple small steps, not under control when she college saluted, which took her back.

NC State got kind of a WE’RE TRYING TO GET YOU TO REGIONALS bars score there.

Cumber – FX _ OMG TWO PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME FLOOR MUSIC – lunge back on double pike but good shape – short of 180 in splits – front lay front full, comfortable – bounces back out of double tuck.

Hundley – BB – “one of the rocks of this team” was what he meant to say ” one of the rots of this team” is what he said. — aerial, dances out of it to avoid check – secure loso series – switch side, solid as usual – SHE’S SUCH A ROT – 200 hour pause before full turn, a little ragged – side aerial to full, pretty much stuck, college salutes herself out of it as well.

Muhammad – FX – “as many quad meets as they’ve had this year, this is easy stuff” what are you even saying – great DLO, chest up, controlled landing – high leaps, close to 180 but not quite – front tuck through to double tuck, smallish bounce back –

Gowey – BB – switch to split, good – no trouble on two loso series – aerial, smooth – full turn – gainer full with a step back. But strong.

Kaufman – FX – comfortable double tuck – not much height on double piek but pulls it around well, chest but secure – front full to layout, some knees –

Boren – BB – gainer kickover front, nailed – falls on her loso series, off line to the left, never saving it – gainer loso is fine – gainer full.

Cluchey – FX – solid on her double pike, even more solid on the double tuck landing, great control on first two passes – 1.5 to layout, knees on the layout and a step back after coming in short.

McMurtry – BB – kickover front, great chest up – secure on loso series, not the most extended but no checks – switch to shush to hip circle – blue screen of death – sticks 2/1. Good one.

Koshinski – FX – another big DLO, chest up and controlled – 1.5 to layout – maybe a little bouncy on a double pike, couldn’t really tell from this angle, but should be another useful score.

After 3: Florida 148.225, WVU 147.025

Five quite solid beam routines from Florida. Only minor checks and only in a couple routines. (Cheney falls in exo, working out of loso series). Because of the more realistic scoring, Florida will have to get a huge floor total to change RQS, but this is a much-improved meet over last week, obviously.

We’re getting close to Kentucky/Missouri now, as well as a bunch of others.

Please tell me you were listening to the NC State commentator tell us that “rudi” and “randi” are named after the gymnasts who competed them first. No.

MU: Huber – VT – a little short on full.

UK: Carliste – UB – jaeger – clean on the bail – tries to sell the stick on the tuck full but a lunge forward to salute.

WVU: Kaufman – BB – kickover front to beat, secure – switch to straddle 1/4, back leg on switch and short of 180 on straddle 1/4, will get deducted – 2/1 dismount, hop.

UF: Boren – FX – full in, a little short this time with a step forward – 2.5 to layout, high, a little arched – “ONE OF HER BIRTHDAY PARTIES SHE HAD AT THE ZOO.” Oh, well call the news!!!!! good control on double tuck.

WVU: Muhammad – BB – opens with two standing “layouts” we’re told, but those are pikes – cool to see, but check on the second – side aerial to full, hop.

UF: Baker – FX – back to the lineup. one of her strong Dos Santos landings, controlled lunge forward and stays in bounds – sticks double tuck – switch side and popa – 1.5 to half to straddle, excellent set. Great landings. 9.975. Not the worst 9.975 you’ll ever see.

UK: Dukes – VT – breaks the stick streak on her half but not too large of a bounce forward.

FINAL: Florida 197.600, WVU 196.100

Florida won’t be able to use this score because they already have three higher home totals, but this is a useful performance. It means more than some of those other numbers because overall it was scored more realistically. There were high ones here and there, but as a rule, fine. Improvement over last week. Second 196 of the season for WVU.

UK: Stuart – VT – nearly a stick on her full, just a hop of legs together and a pike throughout. Kentucky hitting vault.

MU: Miller – UB – close on piked jaeger with some elbows – way overarched on her bail and couldn’t save, has to come off.

LSU and Alabama getting started shortly.

LSU: Cannamela – VT – nice stick on her full, as she often does, just a little pike and comparatively lacking distance –

BAMA: Desch – VT – small step back on 1.5. Similar knees to Guerrero, but the vaults have arrived –

LSU: Gnat – VT – not the stick on the DTY this time, hop back.

LSU 49.425 on VT. Great early vaults, had the landings, scores were set to rise later but the later ones didn’t have the landings.

UNH: Mulligan – UB – half turn to high piked jaeger to overshoot – keeps form well – short final hs – sticks tuck full with a lean. Lovely toes, but will get hit for some of those handstands, several were short.

49.500 on VT for Alabama. Their best landings of the season. 49.200 on bars for Iowa State.

LSU: Hambrick – UB – high Ray, just a little close on the catch – giant full to bail, crisp snap into vertical on the bail – a short cast in there – excellent stick on tuck full, chest up.

BAMA: Childers – UB – toe shap, better horizontal – misses vertical on the bail, keeps going but well short and back collapses through it – another struggle on a cast, crazy legs on tuck full and a step. They’ll have to count this –

Harrold – UB – shap half to zucchold, excellent – half turn to high jaeger, hop change to double front, stuckish – Keeps getting better each time – just a leg break in that first 1/2 turn and short on the frip change.

Bama; Jetter – UB – normal tkatchev – also a little short on her bail but a small deduction tupe on this one – hop forward on double front

Excellent full from Young on vault from Iowa State – opens well

LSU: Edney – UB – a little close on Hindorff this time but fine – good vertical on bail, was a touch from going to an arch but on the good side of that – DLO, nearly stuck, step back on salute, didn’t show control long enough. 9.950 means they gave the stick

Bailey clean on bars for Alabama, lovely vertical bail – small hop on full out.

LSU: Finnegan – UB – Pretty Ray as always – vertical on the bail, toes throughout – muscles up final hs – whips DLO a little with a step back.

Apparently Mackenzie Brannan is alive again because she just went on bars for Alabama. Still rusty. Not her usual dismount with a lunge forward. We’re used to her sticking that, but it’s progress. She’d be in the ideal lineup.

LSU: Gnat – UB – giant full to gienger, better legs – does break on the bail and not quite vertical – whips out DLO, near stick with just a hop in place. She’s getting better. 9.900 is a little high though. And by a little I mean come on.

Alabama lucky to get out of bars with a 49.025 after a weak rotation with two significant errors and a couple other steps.

BSU” McGregor – VT – also JUST holds the stick on her 1.5 – knees throughout and a lean to hold the stick, but should be another good score. They both landed short in warmup and didn’t land short in competition.

DU: Ross – VT – large bounce back out of her full as well but better form – not getting the landings –

BSU: Mcgregor – UB – toe shap to bail, not bad on the leg form – step up to high – one borderline handstand – sticks tuck full – will be another big bars score.

Auburn did get a 196.300, which is fine but won’t help the mission to get into the seeds.

DU: Karr – SO GLAD YOUR TEAMMATE WAS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA DOING NOTHING – 1.5 holds the stick, knees in the air.

BSU: Bennion – UB – good legs in shap, a little break in the bail but a small error – whip out DLO, swims to try to hold the stick and ends up taking a step anyway, so now the judges have to take the swim and the step.

DU: Chesnok – VT – Y full to her knees but they didn’t need the score.

BSU: Mejia – UB – awesome full turn to gienger – great positions – clean on the bail – hitting casts – DLO full, short on it with a bounce forward and piked in the air. Gives away a lot there but not more than .050 in the interior. Still 9.900. Really it should have been at least .150 on the dismount alone.

What on earth is happening with the floor at LSU. They’ve lifted up the mat and the boards are apart. So…a delay.

BAMA: Guerrero – FX – double pike, fine – hits her position on the popa – 1.5 to front full, secure, a bit of knees – rudi – not the most amplitude on a rudi.

LSU: Ewing – FX – front 2/1, a bit of a slide – front full to layout, nice height and layout position, takes it right to the edge of the floor – also takes her double pike right to the edge and stays in again –

BAMA: Jetter – FX – good double arabian, small hop back – 1.5 to front full – turns a small stagger into choreography – 1,5 to layout, fine –

BSU: McGregor – BB – tentative full turn but fine – deep landing on punch front but sissones out of it well enough – back handspring back pike, secure – switch 1/2 to split, a little short and loses feet but not bad – sticks 1.5

Diaz for ISU is on beam, her JO beam was ridiculously good as I recall.

Hambrick bounce/lunges out of her 2.5 to front tuck but otherwise strong – very nice split and wolf positions, both in form and in finish

Bailey – FX – best double arabian of the group so far, controlled and chest up – front lay front full – extended – switch ring to split full – good hit –

Gorgeous double turn on beam from Mulligan, so pretty – check on switch side will be major deduction.

Edney has a pace back on her double arabian on floor – a little short on double tuck with a step forward.

Sims – FX – controls the double pike this time – fab leaps as always – 1.5 to layout, whips it around but does to her feet – double tuck, solid. 9.975 is a senior night score. You were supposed to do that on beam, judges. Beam is the one for her.

FINAL: Alabama 197.100, Iowa State 196.600

DU: Addison – FX – excellent DLO, chest but not even – whips around the layout a touch on her second pass – good straddles – solid double pike.
Kelley with a simultaneous DLO for LSU but a large bound back –

Esmerian falls on beam for BSU but they don’t need the score.

9.925 for Kelley is ridiculous with that landing error on the DLO – to take only a half tenth there is just wrong.

UNH: Lauter – BB – pretty aerial – three series to loso, just loses her knee on the layout – round off gainer full with the smallest slide.

LSU: Gnat – FX – LET’S GUESS WHAT SCORE SHE’S GOING TO GET – Jay CLark is standing in front of her DLO landing to shield us, which he definitely did on purpose so that I wouldn’t have anything to say about it – it looked fine – 2.5 to front tuck, keeps it in line this time – switch ring and split full, very good. Short on double pike with a lunge forward. 9.950. They wanted so badly to give her a 10 but even judges couldn’t justify it for that final pass. (actually should have been more)

FINAL: LSU 197.875, UNH 195.300

Did you see that Arkansas also got a 196? IT’S A MARCH MIRACLE.

One rotation left at 197 PARADE, I mean Boise State.

While we’re waiting for the rotation to begin, remember that time Alicia Boren had a birthday party at the ZOO?!?!?!?!?!?!

SUU’s scores are a little 196.0 going to beam. Still going to be a useful score for the rankings (barring disaster) but not a huge total.

BSU: Stockwell – FX – front double full, crossover step – a little short on her leap as well, like she didn’t get her desired lift off the floor – 1/2 to front full – rudi, some legs, good control.

FYI, these floors scores have been ridic.

DU: Ross – BB – switch ring and actually not that unrealistic, could teach the elites a few things – aerial to bhs, wish they had fewer of those in this lineup – side aerial to full, basically stuck. Good one.

BSU: Webb – FX – double pike, shortish, chest down with a step forward – switch side and popa, short of 180 – they’ll get hit for these dance elements in postseason – completely misses her punch and falls on second pass.

DU: Karr – BB – side aerial to bhs, lovely – side aerail to side position, loses her second leg with some mushy knee situation – beat jump to split jump 1/1, nearly all the way around – sticks 1.5.

Maybe Webb just got lost in the air? Something happened on that pass that made her land between half twists and in a heap.

BSU: Collantes – FX – strong full in, chest up and a controlled step back – switch ring and switch 1/2 both a little short – 1/5 to layout, high at the start, just a touch arched around at the end – bounce back on double pike, chest down. 9.925. I had it at 9.800. Don’t worry.

It’s a 197.150 final for Denver. Boise State will be higher.

FINAL: Boise State 197.675, Denver 197.150

If you’re checking in on this post because you saw this Boise State score and were like, “WHAT IN THE WHAT????” the answer is no, it was not realistic. Bars was fab and vault has excellent difficulty, but it was a home-senior-night score-scape that benefited both teams.

Alabama looked strong minus the falls and Brannan’s dismount. Brannan will get better with more reps and dismounts with the hard landings, and I expect that Sims or Childers will come out of the bars lineup when Winston returns next week. Also, Bailey will likely be replaced by Childers on beam for SECs. However, the leadoff spots on beam and bars seem problematic with McNeer out, especially since I believe that Alabama will start SECs on beam.

It seems like Kentucky has a good draw then. Olympic order and competing in the afternoon session will make it easier to be All-SEC/All-freshman. I don’t think the scoring discrepancy between the two sessions will be all that huge, meaning KY competing in the afternoon versus evening won’t lead to a much lower score (or the reverse being true for Georgia).

It just seems lately that your daggers have been pointed their way a bit more than usual. Just my observation. Maybe if you tempered the comments with an occasional positive mention it wouldn’t seem so sharp.

Becca Schugel’s floor routine for Mizzou was gorgeous. Great variety of tumbling (Triple full, double pike, and double twist-punch front). It got a 9.925 but I thought it was at least deserving of a 9.950!